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Dave Roberts Had a Simple Message for Dodgers Before Popping Champagne

Los Angeles is once again moving on deeper into the playoffs.

Kyle Koster

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has had a lot of practice giving pre-party speeches.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has had a lot of practice giving pre-party speeches. / Los Angeles Dodgers on X
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The Los Angeles Dodgers made quick work of the Cincinnati Reds in their National League wild-card series as they cruised to a 8-4 victory in Game 2 thanks to big nights from Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Next up for the defending World Series champions is a date with the Philadelphia Phillies in what should be must-see TV.

Major League Baseball seasons are marathons and teams rightly celebrate their accomplishments by going all out even if they have much larger goals in mind, so the Dodgers piled into their victorious locker room to party it up after sweeping the Reds. But not before manager Dave Roberts charged them with a responsibility.

"There's a lot of work to be done," he said. "My only ask is that every single guy be ready when called upon. Keep your minds right. We're going to need every single one of you guys. Stay in it. Stay focused. Keep playing for each other. Let's go!"

The end of the motivational speech meant it was time to pop bottles and Los Angeles, even despite all its recent history, enjoyed it like it was the very first time.

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Kyle Koster
KYLE KOSTER

Kyle Koster is an assistant managing editor at Sports Illustrated covering the intersection of sports and media. He was formerly the editor in chief of The Big Lead, where he worked from 2011 to '24. Koster also did turns at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he created the Sports Pros(e) blog, and at Woven Digital.

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